San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
THEATER NOTEBOOK
Onstage plans hybrid production of ‘Timing’
San Diego theaters have been producing a regular stream of plays this summer in a variety of formats — live Zoom-based shows, filmed Zoom shows, newly filmed stage performances, older filmed performances from the archives, and a livestreamed stage performance also filmed for followup streaming.
Now comes something completely new from Onstage Playhouse. Beginning Oct. 16, a cast of seven actors will come together onstage at the Chula Vista theater for 11 live performances of David Ives’ “All in the Timing.” But the audiences will be at home, watching the performances via livestream.
All summer, Onstage officials have been reaching out to city, county and state officials for permission to perform the play on an outdoor park stage, but they have yet to receive permission. Those efforts will continue. But in the meantime, to retain the in-the-moment quality of live theater, the company came up with the hybrid idea of multiple live performances rather than just one filmed for later viewing.
“I just want to give you a live experience because that’s what I’m best at,” James P. Darvas, Onstage’s artistic director, said in a video to patrons on Sept. 25. “Every time I direct a play ... I never know what’s going to happen. Are the lights going to go out? Is there going to be a fire? Is it going to be the most magical, beautifully transformative experience you’ve ever had? There’s so many things that can happen.”
To protect the actors, all rehearsals have been held outdoors with masks and social distancing. For the performances, the theater will undergo daily cleaning and cast members will be screened and have their temperatures taken each show day.
Darvas said he picked the comedy “All in the Timing,” which features six one-act plays that deal with time and language, because it’s a personal favorite. He first saw it off-broadway in 1993 when he was a high school junior. Although he prefers plays and musicals that challenge an audience to think, he said he feels the pandemic-weary public is looking for lighter, more upbeat fare.
“Times are tough, y’all, and all I want to do is make you laugh right now,” he said, adding that the show’s surreal design concept will be “Tom Petty’s ‘Don’t Come Around Here No More’ mixed with a little Salvador Dali and a side of Tim Burton.”
Since shutting down in the spring, Darvas said, Onstage has been renovating the theater with a new sound system, new soundproofing and some upcoming lighting improvements.
“All in the Timing” will be presented at 8 p.m. Thursdays-saturdays, Oct. 16 through Nov. 7. Streaming tickets are $30 per household. Visit onstageplayhouse.org.
Agosto joins Diversionary team
San Diego actress, photographer and graphic designer Andréa Agosto has been appointed as an artistic fellow at Diversionary Theatre. In the newly created role, she will collaborate on elevating and training a future LGBTQ BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) artistic producer to work “eye to eye” with the company’s leadership on future productions.
The fellowship was created as part of Diversionary’s anti-racism action plan in addressing the “We See You White American Theatre” initiative and Black Lives Matter movement. The fellowship will be a rotating opportunity.
Agosto has performed in four Diversionary productions as well as with Moxie
Theatre, Innermission, La Jolla Playhouse, Blindspot Collective and many other local theaters. She holds a 2014 master’s degree in language, literacy and sociocultural studies from the University of New Mexico.
Globe alumni on Netflix
Two alumni of the Old Globe/usd Shiley Graduate Theatre Program, Jim Parsons and Brian Hutchison, are featured in a new film adaptation of Mart Crowley’s 1968 stage play “The Boys in the Band,” which is now streaming on Netflix.
For the film, producer Ryan Murphy reteamed the entire cast of the Tonywinning 50th anniversary revival produced on Broadway in 2018. It’s about a group of gay male friends whose gathering at friend’s New York City birthday party turns into a dark confessional. Parsons plays Michael and Hutchison plays Alan in the Netflix production, which also stars Matt Bomer, Andrew Rannells, Michael Benjamin Washington and Zachary Quinto.